Browsing Category: "money ideas"
As a student in this day and age, you need to be careful of ensuring that you select the correct insurance specialist for your needs. If you’re someone below 25, you’ll find that you’re going to have to pay more. Why that number? Who knows.. I guess some statistician has looked at figures to work out that it is statistically more likely for some below 25 years to drive like a maniac!
I’ve been researching on the web on how you can get cheaper insurance as a student, they include:
- Getting good grades - shows that you take yourself seriously and therefore take responsibility… making you a better driver!
- Be more careful- if you have a record for good driving you will find that your insurance premiums go down each year
- Go on your parents insurance (if possible) - you’ll need your parents consent but if your parents are good drivers and have not had any accidents and they also trust you, they maybe able to put you down as a named driver. However, if you do have an accident, your parents insurance premium will go up (that won’t please them!)
- Extra driving lessons - you can take extra driving lessons - they are called defensive driving lessons or community driving and by passing these, the insurance companies will probably be happy to lower your costs.
- Choice of car - a less attractive car (to deter would-be thieves) and a smaller engine will also decrease the cost of your car insurance
As found in the Sunday Times today:
To read the original article:
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6390176.ece
My cousin told me that per quarter, his roomates and him pay £200 each. Thats a rip off!!!! So I wrote to the Energy Saving Trust for some ideas for him and got these:
* Turn your thermostat by 1 degree. This could cut your heating bills by 10% and save you around £40 a year.
* Is your water too hot? Make sure the boiler thermostat is set to no higher than 60 degrees.
* Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
* Always turn off lights when you leave room.
* Dont leave electrical appliances on standby or on charge unnecessarily.I’m actually guilty of leaving my cellphone on recharge overnight so this should help.
* Wash your clothes at 30 degrees. Washing at 30 degrees rather than higher temperature means you use 40% less electricity.
* Only boil as much water as you need.
* Use energy saving lightbulbs. Just one can save you £100 over lifetime of the bulb and they last upto 12 times over an ordinary bulb.
If you can show that you’re responsible you can pay next to nothing (or nothing) for accomodation. When people go on holidays or extended leave, they will need people to look after their property and/or pets who live there too.
You can apply to become a housesitter, use the facilities of the home that you’re at (with permission of course) and get paid. The length of time varies from place to place depending on the circumstances. Of course, you’re going to have to build the trust you have with the homeowner but once you have done this, you maybe call regularly when they are visiting.
There are all sorts of companies out there which offer house sitting facilities and through these sites you can apply to become one… just type in ‘house sitter’ in Google or other searche engines.
The ones which came up when I searched online are:
http://www.mindmyhouse.com/
Ok, I am not talking about doing anything illegal or indecent here but there are a few things which you can do to make some extra money with your body..
Selling your hair
I don’t know if it’s because more and more people are going bald (probably all the dissolved chemicals in tap water) but wigs, hair extensions and hairpieces are popular again. The best of these are made of real hair and of course, it’s got to come from somewhere. Typically, you need to have hair longer than 6 inches, it needs to be clean with no colouring or other treatment. Banbury Postiche are a major wig make and will pay you about £3 per ounce of hair that is 6-12 inches long and £5 per ounce for anything longer than 12 inches. Visit http://www.banburypostiche.co.uk for more information
Sperm and Egg donation
As a student I frequently saw adverts for sperm donation but the thought of having an untold child freaked me out so I never thought to do this. However, the money wasn’t bad, you can get paid up to £40 for a.. er, deposit! If you want to go down this route, then go and visit your fertility centre or hospital. As a female, egg donation however involves being given drugs to regulate your menstrual cycle and then a 10 minute operation to remove them.. I would think carefully about donating your eggs as a female however. So, a relatively easy way for a man (if you have good sperm count) but perhaps not so easy for a woman.
Medical Experiments
A lot of students I knew did this when I was a student but being a human guinea pig, you just don’t know what sort of risks are involved. You may experience nothing and find it a very lucrative way to earn some pocket money but then again, what if something goes wrong? Visit http://www.biotrax.com who list all the medical trials which are currently available. A lot of people earn thousands doing this type of stuff but just remember that you never quite know the short term, let along long term affects it may have on you.
Psychological Research
This is relatively easy work and the pay can be quite good. You will be recruited for memory tests, brain imaging and other brain studies. You will get paid in cash for your time and travel expenses. You can get paid up to £60 for a session.
Police Line-up
Just visit your local police station and they will pay you about £10 for your picture which they will use for line-ups… let just hope you don’t get picked mistakenly for something you didn’t do!
Life Modelling
All you need to do is to sit still and be ok with people drawing/sculpting you. Contact the local art schools and adult education centres. You can also put up adverts in local arts schools or newspapers. Each session can last up to 3 hours and you can get paid upto £10 ($20 USD) per hour clothed and up to £15 ($30 USD) unclothed.
Film/TV extra
I have always wanted to do this but I never got picked. Would it be great to see yourself in the background of the new Harry Potter film? Anyway, you can earn up to £70 ($150 USD) a day for just a few hours work… more if you have your own props. All you have to do is to find a casting agency but be aware of the ones which as for an upfront fee.
